A Matter of Pride
Mandisi Majavu
1 October 2002
Even the presidency lent its support to the Gay Pride festival this year, the annual event where the rights of gays and lesbians come under the spotlight.
About 20 000 marchers celebrated the 13th event of its kind, by taking to the streets of Johannesburg at the weekend in a display of colour and festivity. Essop Pahad, the Minister in the Presidency, sent a letter to the parade, reiterating the Constitution’s protection of people’s rights regardless of their sexual orientation.
“Our Constitution, in the Bill of Rights, recognises the right to equal treatment of our citizens. It explicitly stipulates that the state may not unfairly discriminate directly or indirectly against anyone on grounds that include sexual orientation,” he said.
The march began around 11:30am from Zoo Lake. For the first time in its 13-year history it went not through the inner city but along the tree-lined streets in the posh northern suburb of Rosebank.
Strutting their stuff
Along the way drag queens were to be seen strutting their stuff in their show-stopping outfits. Half-naked men and women were standing around looking beautiful on the floats. Men were showing off their pectorals and buttocks, whereas women were revealing all there was to see.
As expected, anti-gay protesters were to be spotted along the way with placards that read “Repent”, “Escape God’s wrath” and “The king is coming”.
Other protesters were handing out religious literature at the Zoo Lake. Said one: “I am here because I want to share the grace of God with everyone.
“I am not saying I’m better than the people here but I am here because I believe in God and this is as good as any place to share the love of God.”
Before the start of the march, four lesbian sangomas from Soweto blessed the marchers. When asked if their families know about their sexual orientation, they said: “We are out of everything, including the closet.”
They said at first their families thought after becoming sangomas, they would be “normal” again. They were there, they said, to represent the black gay and lesbian community.
Struggle far from over
Gary Bath of Pride Communication, one of the organisers, described the parade as being a “100-fold success”. But gay rights activists say their struggle is still far from over. People living with HIV and Aids still face discrimination; and in black communities homosexuality is still largely frowned upon.
Disenchanted black gay and lesbians who did not want to be named felt that blacks were just there to validate the whites and that the march was about celebrating the white gay community. They said that the march needs to be taken through Soweto, where being gay or lesbian is still an outrage. This would bring meaning to the march, and perhaps it would become a real march, not simply a parade.
Nevertheless, this year’s festival showed that much progress has
been made since the first march in 1990 when gays wore paper bags over their heads for fear of being identified. Recently, the Constitutional Court upheld a ruling allowing same sex couples to adopt children. And in July 2002, the same court also ruled that a partner in a same-sex relationship could enjoy the same benefits as a spouse. For many, this is being viewed as a significant step towards the legalisation of same-sex marriages.
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